Rough couple of days

Very late Sunday night my son, Kevin, got a call from a fraternity brother - Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Three of their fellow Marching Mizzou members, friends and fraternity brothers had been in a car accident in Oklahoma. They were returning home after seeing a fellow fraternity member graduate from Air Force basic training. One of the young men (two 19 year olds, and one 20 year old) was declared dead at the scene. One of the survivors was transported by helicopter to a hospital and the other was taken by ambulance. All of the fraternity brothers still in town gathered and spent the rest of the night holding each other up.

Early the following morning they got the news that the young man taken by helicopter was brain dead following surgery. He passed away later that day.

Kevin seems to be handling this pretty well, but as time goes by I'm handling it less and less well. There is a beautiful YouTube tribute that was put up and while watching it I was reduced to sobbing tears. I never met these boys but have heard heard a lot about all three of them from Kevin. He was closest to the young man pronounced dead at the scene, Jeremy. Shortly after starting school Kevin told us about a new friend whose parents are "real life hippies!" Jeremy's clothes were full of tie-dye shirts and flashy off-the-wall shoes. His funeral is Saturday and his mother has requested that his Marching Mizzou and fraternity brothers wear jeans, tie-dye shirts and a tie. The fraternity has spent the past few days making tie-dye shirts for everyone.

The other young man's - Sean's - funeral is tomorrow, Friday. The fraternity brothers will all sing at each funeral. I find the thought of both services to be almost overwhelming and can't even begin to think how Kevin and the rest of the brothers/band members will feel. The survivor, Ryan, is home and will be at each service, singing with the rest of the fraternity. He's pretty banged up, but ambulatory.

My head tells me this kind of things happen and it's just a part of the life & death circle. My heart is screaming about how unfair this seems. These are three really fine young men, no drinking or drugs were involved. Please offer a prayer for everyone touched by this tragedy. It just sucks.

The YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxFwDJxOUJ8

BessieBee



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